FEMA wants cement wall around entire school

Finally - a plan for the old Dozier Elementary.

At a School Board Committee meeting on Monday, it was announced to the board members that FEMA has finally contacted the School Board office about mitigating Dozier Elementary in Erath.

FEMA, according to Sellers, told him over the phone last week that it wants a five to seven foot high cement wall built around Dozier Elementary in order to prevent any future storm surge from flooding the school. The wall would be about the height of the fence that is around the school today.

The school was flooded with three to four feet of water three years ago when Hurricane Rita came ashore west of Vermilion Parish.

Temporary buildings were placed north of Erath as a makeshift elementary school until FEMA decided what to do with the flooded school.

FEMA had three choices when it came to mitigating. It could pay to raise the school 12 feet above sea level (too expensive), it could have paid to have a new school built further north of Erath (too expensive) or build a cement wall around the school to protect it.

FEMA has not sent anything in writing about its decision, but the School Board is going ahead with FEMA’s plan to build the wall, along with repairing the school.

Superintendent Randy Schexnayder said the project will be done in two phases. The first phase is to begin repairing Dozier. Bids have to go out and Schexnayder said repairs won’t begin until August and will take at least another nine months.

While repairs are being done, the wall will also be built around the school.

The cement wall will have five gates around the school. The school will be sealed off and all of the gates closed only when a hurricane is en route.

Schexnayder is hoping by the start of the 2009-2010 school year, Dozier will be ready.

FEMA will pay for the entire project.